Three Goodrich wrestlers will be carrying the banner for the Martians at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
In Division 3 individual regional competition at Durand Feb. 28, Garrett Higdon took first place in the 103-lb. division, while Jeff O’Mara (171) and Barrett Johnson (189) earned second place in their weight classes.
All three Goodrich grapplers qualified for the state individual wrestling finals, which begin Thursday, March 11 at The Palace.
Higdon (42-7) earned the 103-lb. title by winning a 3-2 decision against Montrose’s David Cheza in the finals of that bracket. Higdon advanced by winning a 6-4 decision against Corunna’s Kyle Rosser and a 7-0 decision against Corunna’s Andy Robertson.
O’Mara (41-1) suffered his first loss of the season against Perry’s Abe Cross in the 171-lb. finals, dropping a 3-2 decision. Before that, O’Mara earned a 14-0 major decision against Durand’s Nathan Browning and a 4-0 decision against Essexville-Garber’s Steve Frye.
Johnson (47-6) lost a 6-3 decision to Caro’s Pete Mooney in the 189-lb. finals. He advanced that far by earning a 17-5 major decision against Chesaning’s Mike Casassa and pinning Durand’s Brice Grant in 5:52.
Two other Goodrich wrestlers, Jason Fischer (112) and Erik Fernelius (152), also competed in the individual regional meet.
Fischer was pinned by Montrose’s Vincent Lahar in 1:59. He then pinned Birch Run’s Tim Smith in 1:57 before losing a 17-2 technical fall to Mt. Morris? Kyle Martinus.
Meanwhile, Fernelius was pinned by Essexville-Garber’s Ryan Gehringer in 1:29, then was pinned by Montrose’s Mickey Stiles in 39 seconds in the consolation bracket.
The host Martians saw their season come to an end in the semifinals of team regional competition Feb. 25, losing to Yale 58-10. Goodrich finished its season with a record of 14-20.
The Martians took a quick 7-0 lead against Yale, as O’Mara (171) earned a 13-4 win against Jeff Francek, and Johnson (189) defeated John Vanderbossche by a 7-2 decision.
The Bulldogs came back to win the next three matches to take a 15-7 lead. Fischer (112) then earned a win for the Martians by defeating Mark Abate by a 9-3 decision.
However, that was the Martians? last win of the evening, as the Bulldogs won the last eight matches to win the contest going away.